[Amanda Goff]

Like so many of us, I am not currently working with this particular age group in Music Therapy. I hope to be using what I am learning in the near future. This past week really opened my eyes to how children develop and grow in these four areas. I am more confident in what I will need to look for when working within early childhood in Music Therapy.

[Amanda Goff]

Musical Development Sequence: Singing: Awareness(audible breaths and locates sound), Trust(begins to match pitches they are hearing), Independence(cooing and babbling using pitch), Control(confident in their vocalizations), Responsibility(comfortable with singing in the minor and singing whole songs).

Musical Development Sequence: Playing Instruments: Awareness(may not hold the instrument, but responds to songs that move), Trust(may start to hold instrument for a few seconds at a time or shake an instrument for a few seconds at a time), Independence(more comfortable and begin to explore instruments on their own), Control(begin to mirror the Tx. and start and stop playing/shaking in instrument when the Tx. starts or stops), Responsibility(can play an instrument within a group and maintain that steady beat modeled by the Tx.)

Musical Development Sequence: Moving: Awareness(movements are more natural and non-sequenced), Trust(may start to pat knees and repeat the same movement and are more confident in their movements), Independence(the movements go from natural to intentional movements, confident, want to show what they can do!!!), Control(begin to mirror others movements such as the Tx. or other peers), Responsibility(time for sequencing such as the use of the song “head, shoulders, knees and toes.” They make their movements more personal as well in this phase.)

Musical Development Sequence: Listening: Awareness(recognizes certain voices(timbre) such as their mother or father’s voice) Trust(along with recognizing voices they begin to recognize melodies/songs such as a lullaby(go to sleep, go to sleep….), Independence(begin to match the intensity of what they are hearing and match with either their voice or movements/playing), Control(begin to choose to listen to music and they have that choice), Responsibility(begin to watch others and what they are doing and learn from their peers.)

[Amanda Goff]

When people think of the Plymouth culture, they might think of the pilgrims, Native Americans and the First Thanksgiving. A lot of our traditions come from the Pilgrims and what they brought over from across the ocean. I’m not sure of the traditional and musical specifics for Plymouth, but my community is rich in the culture and in the arts. The Plymouth waterfront has so much to offer, especially during the summer time. There is a wonderful Theater that puts on a variety of plays during the season and there are many museums in the area displaying the history of both the Pilgrims and Native Americans of the Plymouth area.
As a Music Therapist it is very important to be aware of a clients culture and their musical preference. I value the different cultures of this world and look forward to learning about all of yours through this discussion.

[Amanda Goff]

I agree with the group so far, it is nice to hear some new songs working with different modes and in the minor keys. I definitely relate and can say that I also get stuck in the land of major keys. It was a lot of fun hearing the new songs, as well as, singing along with both Elizabeth and Meredith during the powerpoint 🙂 Right now, I am not working with younger children, but I cannot wait to use these songs in the future. It is also nice to add some new songs to my repertoire.

[Amanda Goff]

I haven’t had as much experience with young children as I would like, but I hope after this training I will have the opportunity to work with young children through Sprouting Melodies. I’ve had the opportunity ti work with a group of five year olds in the past who were in the responsibility level. One story that sticks out involves one of my kinder classes that I taught. All of my students were able to keep a steady as a group by patting their knees while singing “She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain” at the same time. My students were able to follow my steady beat and were able to speed up and slow down by mirroring what I was doing. It was a lot of fun working with this age group and observing my students within the responsibility level.

[Amanda Goff]

What I took away from the content this week was the importance of review!!! I enjoyed the reading on early childhood development and it was nice to refresh my mind with this information and to focus on the physical development, but also a child’s emotional development at specific stages of life.

[Amanda Goff]

Personally, what I will bring to early childhood Music Therapy is my love for music and determination to learn musical methods that work well for the early childhood age group. I want to show young children the importance of music and how much fun music can be and that it’s okay to have fun. I also fully support how important it is for parents and families to embrace music and to understand how music can be fun along with their children.

[Amanda Goff]

My name is Amanda Goff and I studied vocal performance at Bridgewater State University and then finished my Clinical Masters in Music Therapy at Arizona State University. I am currently living in Plymouth, MA and finished my music therapy internship last year at Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care. I passed my board certification exam this past December and have been working in the Music Therapy field for almost a year now. I currently work as a Music Therapist at Roman Music Therapy Services and South Shore Conservatory. During the last two years I have worked with a varied population from young children to older adults. Even though I have past experience working in early education I would love to have more experience and am looking to learn more from this program. I am looking to learn new songs and to learn some new strategies when it comes to transitioning from one musical intervention to the next. Looking forward to hearing from all of you and am excited to be connecting with other Music Therapists yayy!!!

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